Michigan coach John Beilein says his team can't hide from what happened at Michigan State on Tuesday, and it can't make excuses either. Melanie Maxwell | AnnArbor.com

ANN ARBOR -- No matter what happens for the rest of the 2012-13 season, Michigan can't hide from what happened at Michigan State on Tuesday.

The Wolverines were humbled, embarrassed and blasted in a 75-52 loss to the Spartans.

That's reality.

And it's something Michigan coach John Beilein says his team needs to embrace.

"There's part of that (loss) that needs to stick with them, and part of it is that we have to embrace reality," Beilein said Friday. "This is life at this level. I saw the Sagarin Ratings and we've played the third-toughest schedule in the country with the third-youngest team in the country.

"It's reality. You're going to have bumps in the road and it's part of getting better. That was a big bump."

A big bump, indeed.

It was Michigan's worst loss in two seasons, its worst loss to Michigan State since 2002 and a humbling reminder that national rankings mean squat if you're not willing to come with everything you've got in this league.

Shortly after Michigan's loss at MSU, sophomore point guard Trey Burke didn't exactly deny that the team's heartbreaking loss at Wisconsin three days earlier may have lingered a bit too long in the minds of the team's youngsters.

Beilein himself admitted as much before the game, saying it was a very difficult loss to get over mentally.

But the MSU loss? That's something Michigan will feel for a while, no matter what. And that's not necessarily a bad thing.

"There's a reality there, but there's also a message there," said Beilein, who put the team through a full practice Wednesday before giving the team a day off Thursday. "And it's that we can't make excuses."

Michigan's rotation has featured five freshmen all season long, and according to Beilein, it will continue to feature five freshmen for the remainder of the campaign -- for better or for worse.

The MSU loss dropped Michigan (21-4, 8-4) two full games behind the Spartans and Indiana atop the Big Ten standings with six games left to play. The Wolverines return to the court Sunday when they host Penn State (noon, Big Ten Network).

The season's not over. Michigan State Tom Izzo jokingly proclaimed Tuesday night that a win over rival Michigan counts for more than one. Reality suggests he's wrong.

It was a 23-point loss, but it doesn't count for 23 losses. Just one.

But it's one the Wolverines can't hide from. They can either embrace it or move forward, or pout about it and watch their season fall apart.

The choice is Michigan's to make, according to Beilein.

"There's a fine line between reality and making excuses," he said. "We're somewhere in between there."